Fastest Known Podcast

Scott is the best US Male Ultra Runner ever.  That may change, but for now, no one can match 7 consecutive wins at the WS100 plus wins at other marquee events.

This year, hundreds of square miles in the western US has been on fire, resulting in terrible air quality which often has exceeded EPA guidelines.  Dr Kevin Shilling is a long time ultrarunner, was 10th at the HR100 this year, and is a pulmonary physician based in Salt Lake City.  So we ask him an important question:

When does air pollution get so bad it's better not to exercise?

"That depends on how badly you want to go for a run."

It's a great time to re-air our 2020 interview with Courtney Dauwalter who - only 1 week ago - won her second consecutive Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc title, setting a new women's course record in the process. On top of all that she was the 7th finisher overall.

During 2020 when UTMB was canceled, Courtney turned her attention to setting an FKT on the Colorado Trail, going from Durango to Denver. In this interview she discusses why the attempt was eventually stopped and much more. This is our most popular episode of all time and for good reason!

"Mediocre"?  I don't think so!

Zack has done 7 ultra races and won all of them.  And he's from Kentucky, proud of it, and why maybe you haven't heard of him (the western US seems to receive more attention).

"I like the east. It's green. I'd like to try some things out west, but I'm happy here."

Zack graduated in 2017 with a double degree, went to work ... and quit 3 days later.

"Running is what I love.  Yes, I took a pay cut, but this is what I want to do."

Find out why.

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Riding and Running on trails is more connected than you know!  The Western States 100 originally was a horse race, not a running race.  And this year Susie Kramer did both, with one of the fastest combined times ever.  With a broken toe, after her horse stepped on it.

"I guess some scar tissue had formed, so the pain wasn't too bad."

Yeah, endurance horse riders are tough.

89 FKTs is a lot!  And 51 of them have been in 2021, including sometimes 2 in one day.  I presume this is intentional?

"I used to race more, but the pandemic caused me to focus on where I live.  And we have a huge history here - some of these routes go back hundreds of years."

"It's always about the journey, not the goal.  But FKTs are great - this has provided the structure for me to learn and explore in my own surroundings."

Wow - a new running shoe company!  That's gotta be hard - why are these two men doing it?

"We've been designing shoes for 25 years for other company's.  There was always a compromise.  We wanted to build a shoe that was the absolute best - no compromise."

"We're always told what the price has to be, and then worked backward from there - we wanted to start with the best product and go forward."

Can a new shoe company succeed?

"If you work hard, and create a product that means something, you will succeed."

He's done it again!  After 5 YEARS of planning, Andrew climbed the hundred highest summits in Colorado in a huge non-stop effort of 22 days.  And established two new Routes and FKTs within that effort along the way.  And he claims he's not that fit ...

"I don't know what it is about me; I can just suffer and keep going."

There are 490 FKT Routes in the UK - get the insider scoop on them - Our two Regional Editors from the UK tell us what is new and cool, and then walk us through some classic FKT routes.

"1,051 FKTs have been reviewed and Approved in the UK in the last 12 months - that's 3 per day - it's been really busy!"

These are all really long, super hard efforts - many of these are multi-day, and some have over 100,000' of Elevation Gain.  Why is that?  

"Really good runners are looking for good adventures!"  

The 2021 Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run starts today. Two days before the run an important meeting took place where the event announced a new policy to increase women’s participation.

Starting in 2022, the percent of women’s entrants will be no less than the percent of women’s lottery applicants. Darcy Piceu who won the the race three times (2012-2014) is now a Hardrock 100 board member and she's returning to the race this year as a participant.